Library Guides: American History: Introduction

What this Guide does –

Helps you identify print and electronic resources related to the history of the United States.
Covers the chronological history of America from colonial times to the present.
Also includes the culture and geography of the U.S.
Highlights the roles played by the various ethic and racial groups that have made up the American population.
Includes biographical information on many of the leading historical figures of American history.

Just click on the tabs above to get started!

Related Guides

Library Blog Feed

Search Strategies

Keep these tips in mind as you start your research -

Call numbers

In the Library of Congress classification system, United States history is in E515-E909. U.S. local history is in F1-975. For example:

E186-E199 covers the Colonial Period.

F266-F280 is where you will find South Carolina history.

More information on the LC Classification system can be found at the Library of Congress website.

Keywords

Try searching your topic, and simply adding “united states" and history to your search.

sports "united states" history

“foreign policy” "united states" history

architecture "united states" history

Subjects

Subjects are controlled headings, and are more specific than keywords. Specify a subject search by putting “su:” in front of your terms.

su: “united states” history

su: “american civil war”

su: women in literature

su: clinton, bill

These kinds of keyword and subject searches are VERY broad! Don't forget to use the filters on the left in the online catalog to narrow your results!

- We do have some tutorials on searching the catalog. Check them out here. -